Fasting To Lose Weight: Alternate Day Or Steady Restriction?

Research on the lifespan extension benefits of calorie restriction has moved beyond verifying the validity of the procedure by testing different species.

Now, most of the research concentrates on understanding how calorie restriction optimal nutrition works and what practical variations will still give equivalent results.

Fasting refers to restricting calorie intake up to 100% temporarily, while still drinking water.

Many religions and health care systems use limited fasting for spirituality or detoxification.

Some also use fasting to lose weight.

A new animal study examined the effects of modified alternate day or intermittent fasting weight loss on cell proliferation rates. Cell proliferation rates are important biomarkers for cancer risk.

Mice were tested over four weeks with 25% daily calorie restriction, three alternate day fasting levels (100% restriction, 85% restriction, and 75% restriction), and an ad lib control group.

Only the 25% daily calorie restriction reduced body weight. Fasting to lose weight combined with alternate day ad lib (all you can eat) feeding was not effective for weight loss.

Both 25% daily reduction and 100% alternate day fasting lowered insulin-like growth factor-1 levels.

Cell proliferation rates and splenic T cell proliferation rates were reduced significantly by approximately 30% only in the 25% daily reduction, 85% alternate fasting, and 100% alternate fasting.

Mammary epithelial cell proliferation was reduced significantly up to 70% in the same three groups.

There were no significant results reported for the group alternating between ad lib eating and 75% restriction days (Varady KA, FASEB J, 2008).

For people who are counting calories for general health, anti-aging benefits, or weight management, it seems important to look for healthy lifestyle changes that can be used daily.

Depending on your health condition, an excellent lifestyle improvement is daily green tea.

Green tea is easy to add to your lifestyle, and you can pamper yourself with different gourmet green tea leaf varieties at less than 2 calories per cup.